From: Wordman [wordman@flashpt.com] Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 11:30 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Greetings and questions > Hence my assessment that the more fundamentalist faiths (Islam, certain > minor Asiatic religions, and some Christian sects) will be forced to either > adapt to the wider (secular) world or be discarded by it. This is harsh, I > know, but there is historical precedent for it (Christianity during the > Industrial Revolution), and the social and political dynamics of the > Information Age more or less demand some kind of transformation. Witness the current Amish fascination with cell phones and cocaine. Wordman *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Chris Sakal [csakal@erols.com] Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 8:16 PM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Greetings and questions >Since someone already defined fundamentalism, I was just going to add, >with respect to a few very intelligent, reasonable, and good >fundamentalist Christians that I've known, that the reason >fundamentalist comes off as a bad word in the U.S. is that most >Christian fundamentalists (here, at least), are reactionary, offensive, >and assume stances of moral superiority that grate the hell out of >everyone's nerves. Actually, fundementalism is pretty much by definiton a bad thing. It's a very strong belief in something very close to the scripture of any given religion, which tends not to have much to do with real life. I also know many people who are fundementalist and who are good people, but it's despite their religion, not because of it. Fundementalism breeds intolerance and stifles innovation, there's really not much good to say about it. Chris Sakal csakal@erols.com *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Robert P. Stefko [rpsst16@pop.pitt.edu] Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 9:41 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Greetings and questions >Since someone already defined fundamentalism, I was just going to add, with respect to a few very intelligent, reasonable, and good fundamentalist Christians that I've known, that the reason fundamentalist comes off as a bad word in the U.S. is that most Christian fundamentalists (here, at least), are reactionary, offensive, and assume stances of moral superiority that grate the hell out of everyone's nerves. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just an attitude on religion.< Fundamentalism is just another way that some groups of people express their faith. Fundamentalists, however, do tend to disregard certain inescapable realities (like the diversity of peoples and the multiplicity of ideas and beliefs they generate), which is simply not tenable in the modern world. Hence my assessment that the more fundamentalist faiths (Islam, certain minor Asiatic religions, and some Christian sects) will be forced to either adapt to the wider (secular) world or be discarded by it. This is harsh, I know, but there is historical precedent for it (Christianity during the Industrial Revolution), and the social and political dynamics of the Information Age more or less demand some kind of transformation. *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Auberon [fskln1@uaf.edu] Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 4:00 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Greetings and questions Tun Kai Poh wrote: > > Hi Robert, I'd respectfully dispute your use of the term > "fundamentalism" to describe Islam. Maybe if you could explain your own > definition of the term... Since someone already defined fundamentalism, I was just going to add, with respect to a few very intelligent, reasonable, and good fundamentalist Christians that I've known, that the reason fundamentalist comes off as a bad word in the U.S. is that most Christian fundamentalists (here, at least), are reactionary, offensive, and assume stances of moral superiority that grate the hell out of everyone's nerves. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just an attitude on religion. -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= "I never get involved in my own life. It's too much trouble" - Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message. From: Auberon [fskln1@uaf.edu] Sent: Monday, January 25, 1999 3:55 AM To: blue_planet@MPGN.COM Subject: Re: [BLUE PLANET] - Greetings and questions Tun Kai Poh wrote: > > I don't think that such a topic is necessarily inappropriate for > publication at all. It's just that religion is such a subjective thing > that _any_ particular take on that topic would be hard to swallow for > some segment of gamers, and hence it might not sell as well. One thing the Biohazard guys have already done very well is not marginalize the subject, nor did they treat only one religion. I think that's the best approach. The detail is provided, and then it's up to the GM to decide what to use. For my part, the only way in which religion has entered my games is that the characters are rudely awakened every night they spend at any Atlas base housing, when the meuzzin does his thing at the appointed time. As an aside, if there are any muslims on the list, due to the extended length of the day, would another time of prayer be added, would the existing five be stretched, or would the prayer times continue to operate like there was a 24 hour day? -- +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= "I never get involved in my own life. It's too much trouble" - Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5) *************************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list send mail to majordomo@mpgn.com with the line 'unsubscribe blue_planet' as the body of the message.